向日葵戦記〜Before Spirited Away〜
by xX-AI-Xx
Summary: In Ancient Japan when Gods still ruled the skies and mankind the earth, a single child awoke, his memories fragmented. There was one voice, however, that remained in his, Haku's mind; "Find Chihiro, retrieve what was lost, and forever change the wheels of fate..." A prequel to 'Spirited Away' (向日葵戦記: Tales of the Sunflower War) "Chihiro...this time don't look back..."
1. 〜夢〜The Dream

"Will we meet again sometime?"

"I'm sure we will."

"Promise?"

"Promise…now go and don't look back…."

….

"Wait, where is she!? She was still there a moment ago!"

"…huh?"

"YUBABA! Did you do something to her again?"

"…Wait…can't you see me…?"

"Hmph, no i didn't you idiot. She did it on her own."

"She did what!?"

"…but i'm right here…!"

"She looked ba-"

"SHE DID NOT"

"Whatever, suit yourself."

"…What did i do…?"

"It can't be…after all this, It can't just end!"

"The girl brought it on herself. She was told not to look back."

"But I didn't see her do so!?"

"She tried."

"…I tried…?"

"But she didn't! There's got to be a way!"

"…It…hurts...h...elp…"

"There is no way, what's done is done! Just accept- wait…that's the Tamate-bako…where did you…no, NO! HAKU PUT THAT DOWN!"

"…Tama…te…?"

"IF YOU OPEN THAT YOU TOO WILL DIE!"

"I don't care! As long as there's a chance!"

"…..Ha…"

"YOU'RE ENDANGERING EVERYONE HERE AS WELL YOU STUPID DRAGON!"

"Wait for me Chihiro…I will come save you…at all costs…i promise."

"HAKU!"

"…ku….."

**_HIIIIII! Che'Nell back heree, I've finally finished all my studies, and whilst so I've been progressing quite far into this story! Hoping to be able to write more faster during the next few weeks! I've replaced Chapter 1 with this (confusing but will make more sense as the story advances) prologue but there shouldn't be much difference to the opening, and just a hint: this story is planned to be based on the warring era of medieval Japan, based on kinda romance-y i guess. I hope you guys will enjoy and i apologise for leaving this story behind for so long. Next update will be asap! thank you:))_**


	2. 〜春〜The God

Her eyes and hands flew open in shock, only to shrink back in pain from the blinding glare of the sun and sharpness of something her hands had grasped.

It was that dream again!

_What had it been about?_

Despite the fact that the little girl knew that she had seen the dream before, she could not put a finger as to what it had been about.

Just like the countless other times she had woken up feeling so.

Knitting her eyebrows in frustration and determination, she conjured all her concentration on the happenings that occurred not long ago, and attempted to recall the names that had appeared throughout the dream.

"Che…Chi….hi…Chi..hi..ro…?"

The girl sounded out each consonant painfully slowly, ease replacing her frustration as she finally sounded out one of the names.

"Chihiro!" She repeated excitedly.

However, she knew there was one more.

"Ha…H…ki? Haki?" She frowned, unsatisfied.

No, it didn't feel quite right.

Aki? Was it Aki?

She shook her head again and frowned deeply still, giving up as a small sigh escaped her parched throat.

At least she had regained one of the names, which was a huge step forward!

_What had it been about?_

The question would not stop flitting across her mind.

There must've been _some _sort of message in it at least, for she felt that such a recurring dream would never have no significance.

Or was she over-thinking things?

Sighing again, the little girl, Shiori, slowly opened her eyes as she gradually eased them against the blinding sun.

Her vision was immediately filled with a hazy delicate blur of pink.

She had fallen asleep on the Sakura tree, which grew near the gates of the imperial palace, as if guarding the border of the royal house to that of the village, which spread out below.

Its buds were in their prime time. Even Shiori's smallest movements caused a downpour of pink rain, and the branch's graceful dancing in the wind lulled the little girl to a sense of other-world-ness.

To any passer-by who would have seen this picture of the little girl in the kimono would have undoubtedly looked twice, rubbing their eyes as if confirming whether what they had seen in the tree was a small spirit of the old-aged tree.

The girl in fact, was simply, a girl.

Indeed she was the emperor's little child, and yet, that meant nothing to her– for her father she had once been proud of for his successful expeditions and countless introducing of new and foreign materials from lands far beyond the raging seas, was now no more than a memory, or at least that is what the girl referred him to.

He had not been home for months now, and despite the fact that this seemed to barely have effect on her little sister, Kannazuki, who preferred the wait as long as it meant more presents and shiny goods, Shiori had grown to hate the man who had seemingly left the two here alone in the emptiness of the palace.

What good was a present when the giver was gone?

What good was a family, when the only remaining parent was gone?

Shiori didn't remember her mother.

She had passed away long before her memory would allow recollection.

Kannazuki, who was three years younger than Shiori, obviously too had no memory of their mother.

Neither did it seem to affect her.

Thankfully, however, there remained someone in the palace that eased this thought of train.

Shiki, was Shiori's caretaker, and child-hood friend.

He was only 4 years older than the 7-year-old Shiori, and yet his maturity had gradually led to his caretaking nature, his kind smile never once leaving the boys pale-white face, even when Shiori was up to no good.

The colour of his hair matched that of the colour of his eyes - a deep silvery-purple colour which seemed to glisten in the light.

It was undoubtedly a rarity in the ancient lands of Japan, however its sight had gradually become normality over the years as time passed within the imperial walls.

Shiori never saw Shiki in the sun.

He would often come out after the energetic Shiori outside, however, his deep red paper umbrella never left his side and shadow, which again had become normality over the years.

Regardless, Shiori was intent on marrying Shiki in the future.

She hid it from no-one, instead, reporting this intention to her caretaker on a near daily basis, even singing it to the other servants who lined the empty imperial halls.

And each time she would say this, Shiki's smile would deepen and eyes soften, which did nothing but encourage the little girl's blossoming pure love.

Clad in red and gold lined silk, little Shiori, with her long black hair, which melted over her shoulders, swung her legs too and fro as she repositioned herself to peer through the gaps of the overgrown tree, supposedly already forgotten about her prior frustrations of being unable to uncover her awaited dream.

Instead, she peered longingly into the distance towards the green horizon, where the village met the hem of the "Shi-no-mori" – the "Forest of death".

Or at least, that it what rumours had called it, for the forest seemed to stretch on and on for miles into the unreachable distance.

For all, it was the root of fear, trespassing was strictly forbidden.

It had been rumored, that many had entered its shadows out of curiosity.

None of them was seen again.

Yet, Shiori knew, deep in her heart, that this forest was what she had been searching for till now.

It was not the " forest of death".

It was a home.

It was a gate - a gate that opened, to the land of the Gods.

Gods had once been rumored to roam the lands, each God representing an element or item - Gods of the trees, Gods of the mountain, and Gods of the sun and moon.

And yet, where were they now?

The mere mentioning of Gods was now a taboo in the palace, her father especially intent on the extinction of its utterance.

_But why?_

Emperors were supposed to be descendants of the God – Amaterasu. Shiori had managed a peak at deciphering the ancient scrolls tucked away in the depths of her father's sleeping chambers, before she had been found and all documents burned.

His deep rumbling voice penetrated her memory.

"GODS DO NOT EXIST!"

Shiori, cowering in fright had only managed to feebly nod her head in forced agreement, before running, sobbing into her caretaker's arms.

This had been the last time she had seen her father.

After that incident, he had set out on another expedition, finally disappearing without a trace.

Shiori stared intently towards the Shi-no-mori, determined to finally catch the existence of a God so that she could prove her father wrong.

They had to be there somewhere!

She knew books wouldn't lie. It definitely had to be her father lying!

And thus, little Shiori stared so fixated into the distance, that by the time she realized that she wasn't alone in the quietness of the high branches of the tree, she had come face to face with someone who stood lightly opposite her, leaning against the main trunk of the tree.

The child's face was covered with a mask, and yet Shiori knew instantly that it was a boy.

Maybe he was around the same age as her, his hair cut evenly in line with his shoulders glowed a deep green as it flowed lazily in the spring wind.

Shiori, however, knew something else.

The boy,wasn't human.


	3. 〜春〜The Crossroad

"What are you..?"

Such were the first words to tumble out of Shiori's mouth as she studied the boy's blank mask cautiously. It was, however, no surprise that he didn't answer.

He too remained silent, and instead seemed to study her back.

A moment of silence, interrupted only by the soft sighs of the Sakura's swaying in the wind, passed by the two, creating a world of their own.

"Who are you?" Shiori re-attempted again, this time in a louder voice.

There of course was no answer. However, just as Shiori was about to attempt another approach, the boy suddenly moved his left arm, and pointed his small finger at her.

Puzzled, Shiori glanced around her. However of course seeing only herself in the heights of such a place, she pointed at herself.

"M-me?" She stammered. "What about me?"

The boy shook his head, which puzzled Shiori even more, and continued to point in Shiori's direction.

It was so soft that Shiori could have easily mistaken it for the sound of the wind, but she was sure that as the boy pointed the second time towards her, a single sound fell from beneath his mask.

"What?" Shiori strained her eyes desperately. Despite the boy being right before her, the thick branch he stood upon was out of reach and earshot.

"W-wait a moment," Shiori exclaimed hurriedly as she stood up from her branch, ignoring the ache running down her legs from standing so suddenly.

"I'll go to where you are."

Shiori was just about to stretch out her arm to grab hold onto another branch before her, when the boy's furious shaking of the head caught her attention, but by the time she realized what he had being pointing to, it was too late.

A huge explosion erupted from behind her, causing Shiori to slip from her branch.

As if in slow motion, she saw the boy reach out his hand desperately towards her, almost hesitantly from the corner of her eyes, but unable to reach, she found herself slipping through the air.

"SHIORI!" The first thought that came to her mind despite her alarming situation, was that the masked boy could speak. However, this was quick to be erased as instead of hitting the ground as the earth rushed towards her, she felt herself land into someone's arms with a soft thud.

"Shiki!" Shiori exclaimed in astonishment. "Why are you here? No, that doesn't matter. _What _was that sound?"

Her silver haired caretaker had successfully cushioned her fall without letting go of his trademark umbrella as usual, his face just inches from hers.

"I figured that you were here again, and," he fell silent momentarily as he glanced cautiously towards the direction of the imperial palace, which had produced the sound. "I have no idea what caused that."

"It must've been from the north gate." Shiori stated as she wriggled out of Shiki's arms, her hair in a tangled mess stained pink with Sakura petals.

"Are you alright, Shiori?" Shiki was the only person in the palace to call her Shiori, without honorifics, apart from her little sister, regardless of whether or not they were in the face of company who bowed repetitively to the young princess and shot the caretaker dirty looks for calling the child so over-familiarly.

"I-" Shiori started, when suddenly she remembered the masked boy who she had been talking to, or tried to at least, earlier. He was, however was long-gone by the time she snapped her gaze up towards his direction.

"I'm okay." Shiori said, more to herself seemingly as she continued to stare up at the place where the boy once stood, oblivious to Shiki's concerned gaze.

By this time, a flood of people had begun to flow out of the palace in a mad dash, their panicked cries rising as they drew closer.

One face in particular stood out from the rest as he ran towards the two who were standing stupidly in the shadows of the tree.

"Shiwasu!" Shiori exclaimed, and at the same time her heart instantly dropped in horror.

"Where's Kanna…." The thin and sickly looking boy also returned Shiori's horrified gaze, as realization seemed to hit him also.

Shiwasu was Shiori's little sister's – Kannazuki's – caretaker, just as Shiki was Shiori's. He however looked as if he was always on the brink of a flu, with his messy hair framing his tired looking face, matching his thinly form, a rarity in the riches provided in the imperial palace, despite his age being only one younger than Shiki.

That day was no different, and in fact, he looked even more bedraggled as he realized that the little girl whom he ought to have protected, was not with her sister.

Shiki was the first to move.

"I'll go find her." Shiki said kindly, unconsciously impressing Shiori for his maintained composure despite the situation, whilst Shiwasu ran, uselessly panicked in the background.

"I'll go too!" Shiori claimed determinedly, which Shiki was quick to counter.

"You cannot. You must stay here with Shiwasu-dono." His voice was firm; his usual smile now replaced with a one of seriousness.

"But.." Shiori looked towards Shiwasu whose presence the two had forgotten momentarily, and motioned him to stop.

"Shiwasu! Did you see what caused the explosion?" Shiori pleaded, sensing distinctly Shiki freeze up beside her.

Shiwasu shook his head however, and Shiki seemed to ease his tensed shoulders.

"I don't know who it is. But, I believe they were probably-"

Shiki made a sudden move towards Shiwasu, however he didn't make it in time to silence the caretaker as the words he had been hoping to keep secret from the wide-eyed girls fell from Shiwasu's lips, lighting the flame in Shiori's heart.

"-Gods." He finished.

Shiki glanced down frightened, at Shiori who had fallen silent.

"You must not go, Shiori." He had guessed the little girl's obsession of the uncovering of the God's secret, and he had hoped to keep it one.

To his surprise, however, Shiori merely nodded silently.

Placing his umbrella-free hand tentatively on her shoulder, he felt the shaking of the little girl's fear and studied her clenched fists.

"Thank you. I'll be right back." Shiori kept her eyes firmly on the ground, away from Shiki's soft gaze, as he nodded curtly to Shiwasu before taking off at full speed in reverse of the flooding of the people from the palace.

"D-don't worry, Shiori-sama. I-I will protect you!" Shiwasu stammered determinedly, despite the fact that he himself shook from the terror of the previous accident and the knowledge of his mistake.

"Shiori-sama?" He questioned sympathetically as he peered into Shiori's face, who remained staring at the ground silently.

"N-no matter what happens, I-"

"Are you sure it was Gods?" Shiori whispered for the first time, cutting into Shiwasu's desperate attempt of a encouraging speech.

"W-what? O-oh, yes. Well, at least I think. I believe it was him, the River God – Nigi…Nigihaya-"

"Nigihayami Kohakunushi!?" Shiori blurted loudly, her face meeting Shiwasu's for the first time.

"Y-yes! That's the-"

"A River God? I thought he was a human? The one behind the kidnapping of the humans in the town?" Shiori interceded again. Shiwasu was aghast as it finally dawned on him that maybe he said something he shouldn't have.

"H-how do you know that?" Shiori ignored his last question. She had overheard the mercenaries talking in the hallways a long time ago, of a certain man that terrorized the town and kidnapped humans, from children to elders, all whom was never to be seen again. But for him to have been a God!? Why hadn't she had realized earlier!? A God….!

"F-forget what I said," Shiwasu stammered. "Everything will be alright, I won't let…Shiori-sama?" By the time Shiwasu had recovered from his shock of disclosing a secret and looked around, the little girl he had just pledged to protect, was nowhere in sight.


	4. 〜春〜The Disappearance

Shiki knew that it would not be too long before the young princess would recover from her shock of realisation of the existence of Gods, and attempt to make contact. He had to make it back before this happened, or otherwise…

Shiki didn't blame Shiwasu for his ignorant speech, although he had hoped that the secret would last longer. Nothing could be kept a secret for too long in the presence of the eager princess.

The third door that Shiki slammed opened was the right one, as he found the unconscious Kannazuki in Shiori's bedroom, assumedly having looked for her sister in the panic of moment.

A thin train of red trickled from Kannazuki's head – had she been knocked out by a piece of the rubble?

Her hands however were still warm, and Shiki could feel, despite its faintness, a warm breath trembling from the little girl's parted mouth.

Shiki was quick to hoist the little girl into his arms, carefully balancing her in one arm and his closed umbrella In the other, using it to swat away crumbling pieces of the imperial wall.

The rumbling resounding in the palace signified the God's presence.

Shiki bit his lip anxiously. If his sixth sense was correct, the figure not far away responsible for the raid, was someone he needed to avoid at all costs. Their meeting would be inevitable someday, but it was still too early. For the first time, had Shiori been there at that moment would she have seen discomposure in the always perfectly aligned caretaker's face, as worry ate away at his eyes.

It wasn't long before Shiki reached the entrance of the east exit of the imperial palace of which he had entered from, and was just about to open his umbrella as he stepped out into the sun, when he nearly ran head first into something…or someone.

Shiki was able to jump back without losing composure, however the other in his haste rolled back wards messily in surprise, scrabbling to his feet uncoordinatedly in his haste.

Shiki's heart sank.

"Shiwasu!" Shiki nearly yelled, aghast. "Where's Shiori?" Shiwasu winced at the rare angered fellow caretaker.

"S-she, she disappeared! So suddenly! Y-You haven't seen her? I thought she came this way…"

Shiki shook his head in disbelief. So he had been too late. He knew he shouldn't have left the feisty young princess in his care.

The worst situation he had feared – had become a reality.

Shiki shoved the unconscious Kannazuki into Shiwasu's arms, causing the wide eyed Shiwasu to totter backwards in the abruptness and without looking back ran straight back into the collapsing palace.

"H-hey!" Shiki didn't know where the young princess could be. Maybe she hadn't even come towards the palace?

No, that would be unlikely, Shiki concluded, quickly shaking the thought off.

He had known for quite awhile that Shiori regularly climbed that Sakura tree in hope to catch a glimpse of the spirits of the Realm of the Gods, despite his past attempts of stopping her.

And now that such a perfect chance had made its way towards Shiori's footsteps, there was no way she would let such a chance go.

Shiki continued to make his way through deeper into the palace, ignoring the crumbling rubble whilst skilfully using his umbrella to quicken his pace.

It was at that moment as shiki was nearing the doors of the Seiryo-den – the meeting hall - when suddenly a cry so familiar rang through the anxious boy's ears, causing his heart to sink further still.

"SHIORI!" He cried desperately as he tore open what remained of the paper sliding doors, and froze completely as he saw momentarily what he had feared most.

A limp figure of the young princess was draped carelessly on the back of a tall man, or could one say, a God. His slender features were hidden in the contrast of the setting crimson sun's light.

All Shiki could see was the long flowing emerald green hair, which reflected that of the sun's light, and the shadows of two protruding horns from either sides of the figure's head. They belonged to none other than a dragon. This in itself was enough to give away the figure's identity, who was still oblivious to the existence of the white haired boy who stood rooted to the spot at the entrance of the room.

"Kohakunushi...no...Yama...ta..." Shiki whispered in shock. The figure seemed to slightly turn his head, before disappearing into the light of the dying sun.

The moment the man disappeared Shiki felt his legs give way as he crumbled to the floor, his umbrella clattering to the ground beside him.

"No…Shiori…" His legs had failed to move at the shock of seeing that man, that it had caused him to fail at protecting the only person whom he should have devoted his life for.

He gave a frustrated cry that resounded through the empty rubbles of the darkening palace and cursed himself, his fist clenched so hard that his nails bit into his skin.

A coward…! Shiki thought to himself as he cursed himself again.

What was he to do? He knew that God was famous for being unable to be found, for his den lay somewhere where man could not visit nor see.

Was it already time…? There was only one last method he could resort to…

Such was the thought in Shiki's mind when suddenly, he felt the presence of another being, of which he knew instantaneously, was not a human's.

In a blink of the eye, he drew out his sword that he kept hidden under his robes, unsheathing it in a split second and pointed it right at the intruder's face.

Or more like mask. The little boy didn't even flinch to the caretaker's sudden movement, and instead seemed to glare down at the boy who, until a split second ago lay miserably in the rubbles.

Shiki narrowed his eyes, not moving his aim of the sword's tip from between the mask's eye slits, as a cold chill ran down his spine. Why, he could not tell.

"You…who are you…" It sounded as if Shiki was more questioning himself rather than asking the masked boy. Through his narrowed eyes, the cautious caretaker studied the boy's appearance. Shiki himself being around 11 years, knew that the boy was much younger. 5? 6?

The short bob-cut green hair and the boy's white attire signaled something off – Shiki had never seen such clothing before within the palace. Nor…

"You're the one that was in the tree, with Shiori." Shiki explained, again more to himself rather than for the sake of saying.

It was, however, when Shiki peered into the boy's mask and attempted to catch a glance at the only visible part of the silent boy's hidden face – his eyes – when suddenly a splitting pain burst in Shiki's temple, causing him to drop the sword and clutch his head in pain as he sunk to the ground.

"You….those eyes…..just like that man's…." Shiki hissed in agony. The boy merely looked on silently.

"Who…are…you….."

_Hey there! Thanks for the review + pms (It seems I'm getting more requests to return to "The white lie of an Amnesiac" – I'm sorry, I'm more excited to write this one more at the moment as it matches my current studies of ancient Japan so hope you'll bear with me writing this one first hahaha) I hope the story procession doesn't betray the hope of you guys as I've tried my best to adhere to the ghibli feeling (however failing massively haahah) but hopefully the story will start making sense as it progresses. THANKS AGAIN (p.s. love reading your reviews Aquavenn:D hahaha __これからもよろしく！__)_


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